Across Bristol and the South West, tens of thousands of care hours are being delivered daily.

The sad reality is that much of this is unpaid and ‘invisible’ - because it is carried out by family members.

Archie Drummond is just 12 years old but cares for his ill parents and disabled brother every day.

His stepdad, Dan Hickey, describes Archie as the ‘rock’ of their family.

“I cannot be more proud of him and his achievements,” he said.

Archie Drummond at Fairfield High School. (Image: Dan Regan)

Dan suffers from a functional neurological disorder, which means he gets blurred vision, goes into seizures and sometimes foams at the mouth. He is prone to blackouts, and Archie has had to rush to his aid on many occasions.

Archie’s mum has an autoimmune disorder while his brother, five-year-old Dexter, is autistic – meaning he struggles to communicate, is often awake throughout the night and is prone to violent outbursts.

“My mum has a problem with her autoimmune disease, which means she sometimes comes up with a nasty rash and is unable to do anything,” the Horfield pupil explained.

“I’m really close to Dex. He can get overexcited when he’s happy, and sometimes he can be quite rough.”

“But he makes me happy, and I make sure I take care of him and that he has everything he needs. He can get restless if he doesn’t have anything to do, so I have to keep him company.”

Getting up every morning at 6am – earlier if Dexter wakes him – he helps his dad to his feet and off his bed before waking up his younger sister Erin.

He plays with Dexter and gets him ready for school, before making breakfast for the family. After packing his own lunch, Archie gets a bit of time to himself when he goes to school.

After school, he’s back home and keeps his younger brother occupied, while dinner is prepared.

“I just have to make sure he is okay, and sometimes he runs around quite a lot. That can be tiring,” Archie said.

He somehow finds a moment to do his homework, put his brother and sister to sleep, before tucking himself in.

For Archie, free time is something of a luxury. “Every day I try to aim to get two minutes of happiness,” he said.

But the demands of care can take their toll – as it would for anyone – and the youngster admits that school can be a ‘relief’.

“I love my friends in school, it’s great being here. When I am low, the pastoral team is there and I’m thankful,” he said.

The reality of Archie’s home life only came to light after one of his teachers witnessed his caring nature towards another child at school.

Natalie Thompson saw him ask older students to give up a seat on a bus to another child with special education needs, and decided to ring home to share that Archie was playing with another child with autism in the playground.

Natalie said: “What makes [Archie] so special is his modesty; at no stage did he share his acts of kindness or caring role at home with me or his other teachers.

“We are unbelievably proud of Archie and thrilled that he has won this award.

“He is an exceptional individual who deserves every ounce of this recognition.”

Bristol Post Gold Star Awards

The Bristol Post Gold Star Awards, Sponsored by Bank of Ireland, are the longest running awards of their kind in the South West.

They celebrate people who have done extraordinary things. Some have saved lives, some have cared for others, some have raised huge sums for charity or have made a real difference to their communities.

Others have faced adversity or illness with great courage.

This year there are 12 wide-ranging categories including Gold Star 999 Hero, Gold Star Life-Saver and Gold Star Young Hero.

All of the finalists will be invited to lunch at the Bristol Harbour Hotel on December 5th.

Since the awards were launched in 1994 we have celebrated some remarkable people. They have ranged in age from children of four years old to people in their 90s.

Each of them is special to us and will always have a place in our hearts.

Sponsor Profile: Brunel Care

Brunelcare is renowned as a charity that provides high quality housing, care and support for older people in the South West. For over 75 years we have been at the forefront of developing ways for people to stay as independent as possible, creating great communities to live, work and enjoy being in.

Our services meet the needs of people, providing value for money, without compromising on quality: our award winning housing allows people to live independently in friendly and supportive communities; from getting ready for the day to help with the shopping we provide a variety of services that help people to stay living in their own homes; our purpose built care homes provide an attractive and comfortable environment for specialist nursing and dementia care.

We are widely recognised for our expertise and excellence in caring for people living with dementia and supporting their families, and our employees are passionate about what we do and strive to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

As an employer of over 1000 carers we understand and are proud to promote the importance that the role of a Carer has, in supporting people to make the most of their lives.

Brunelcare are proud to be sponsoring The Gold Star awards which recognises and thank carers for the hard work and dedication they show every day.

It is important to celebrate this vital role within health and social care.